Singapore in talks with Malaysia about resuming cross-border work travel

Singapore

SINGAPORE and Malaysia are in active discussions to allow Malaysians to resume travel into Singapore for work, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong said in a press conference called on Monday by the multi-ministry task force for Covid-19.

Mr Wong, who co-chairs the task force, said the number of people who will be allowed to enter, the protocols that would be implemented and the industries that would get priority are all being discussed with the Malaysian government.

"We welcome these travellers and we want to see a resumption of travel, but it has to be done in a safe way," said Mr Wong.

He listed testing protocols on both sides as one requirement before travel can resume, and said if testing cannot be done for all travellers, there may need to be some quarantine requirements or a combination of quarantine and testing protocols.

Traffic will not be allowed to return to levels seen before the circuit breaker, or before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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"We're not talking about large volumes, daily commuters coming in and out freely. We are not going back to that situation," he said. "We are talking about resumption of travel, but in a controlled and safe manner for both sides. That's in our mutual interest."

The multi-ministry taskforce also announced that more regional screening centres (RSCs) will be set up across the country to conduct active Covid-19 surveillance testing for targeted groups, including workers in the construction and marine and process sectors.

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, who co-chairs the task force with Mr Wong, noted that there will be an "inevitable" rise in cases as the Singapore economy reopens.

"What is important is for us to mitigate the risks with basic hygiene practices and precautions, and ring-fence cases quickly with timely contact tracing so that large clusters do not form," he said.

The RSCs will provide needed capacity, as regular testing is expanded to more groups, including frontline workers supporting Covid-19 operations.

The construction and marine and process sectors were identified for regular testing because they have had a higher proportion of confirmed cases in the past, and the nature of their work makes it more difficult to maintain strict safe management and distancing measures at all times, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a statement.

Testing in migrant worker dormitories will continue, and it will be expanded to individuals diagnosed with acute respiratory infection at first presentation to a doctor, starting with groups such as seniors, healthcare workers and staff, and older students in educational institutions.

Mr Wong emphasised that the testing will be targeted at groups or individuals who are at the greatest risk, and used in conjunction with contact tracing measures, rather than it covering the entire population.

"We have to focus on these groups, apply the test, and if our capacity increases, we will bring in more people to be tested," Mr Wong said.

"We are going for mass, large-scale testing, but we are still applying the test in a strategic and deliberate manner based on risk and based on where we see the test would yield best results."

The RSCs will not take walk-in requests for screening; MOH said that those who are unwell or have medical concerns should consult their primary-care doctors, who will refer them to the RSCs for screening if needed.

The Health Promotion Board, the national agency appointed to support Covid-19 testing, set up some temporary RSCs in May to screen preschool staff. It is now setting up more to first support screening requirements for workers in the identified sectors, and will locate subsequent RSCs in places easily accessible to the community where possible.

Two RSCs at the Old Police Academy and The Float@Marina Bay began operations on June 2; two more at the Bukit Gombak and Bishan sport halls were set up on Monday. Another centre is being set up at 2 Bedok North St 2 (the former Sepak Takraw sport hall).

Singapore is expecting delivery of the first batch of the TraceTogether token in the later half of June, Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation Initiative Vivian Balakrishnan said at the press conference.

The wearable device will function like the TraceTogether app to facilitate contact tracing. So far, about 1.8 million people or 25 per cent of the population, have downloaded the app, but participation rates need to be higher for the programme to be effective, Dr Balakrishnan said. The token will help bring on board those who do not have smartphones, or whose smartphones do not work well with the app.

He reiterated that the token does not have a global positioning system (GPS) chip or Internet connectivity, making it impossible for it to track a user's location or movement, or to upload data without the participation and consent of the user.

Singapore reported 386 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, the majority of which comprise migrant workers living in dormitories. Two are community cases, a Singaporean and a work pass holder. The total number of confirmed cases in Singapore stands at 38,296.